You're the Cream in My Coffee

Last year, I ran across the sweetest love song.  It was written by Nat King Cole, who I grew up listening to, thanks to my Dad.  He wrote so many songs that are well known, but this one I had never heard before.  It's sweet, and simple, and it sums up how I feel about my valentine and my kiddos.

It's called, "You're the Cream in My Coffee."

I discovered that sweet song as I was drooling over one of my favorite jewelry websites. 

I LOVE Lisa Leonard's stuff.  All of it.  It's very me. 

Anyway, she had a necklace that I fell in love with, called "You're the Cream in My Coffee" and thanks to my very sweet husband, he put it around my neck last night! 

I love it so much...All of my favorite people around my neck and a cup of coffee too :) What a guy!

And a little pearl.  I love pearls. 

We were very blessed to get a night out last night, with one of our favorite tag-a-longs too! 

Carter is so easy to take out, so we were happy to have him along :)

Travis, filling Carter in on "how to take a lady out on a date!" 

Never too young to teach little boys how to treat their future spouse :)

He's doing great with a bottle, which is a great source of freedom for me here and there!

I truly loved having a little extra time for Trav and I to spend with Carter.

He was sweet enough to sit happily in his car seat while we ate our dinner :)

And oh what a dinner it was!  That is my Macadamia Nut Chicken and in the background is Trav's Hawaiian Ribeye...Amazing.  We ate at a restaurant we really have grown to love, Kona Grill.  We don't get there very often, but when we do, it's a treat!

Carter did indulge us for a trip to the mall, followed by some good "talk time" (my request) at Starbucks...where we shared a little red velvet cupcake :)

Love my valentine

We left Ava in good hands while we were gone.

Jenna and Tyler graciously shared their Valentine's day with Miss Ava :)

We are very grateful for that, thanks you guys!

After we got back, we let Ava dig into her stash of gifts...she totally made out!

Some little treats for my valentines

A strawberry shortcake coloring book for Ava...

...and a book for Carter.

Maybe next year we can carve out some time for a little Daddy-Daughter date too :)

Missed this girl all night, but I know she had some great fun without us!

What a sweet day with the ones I love most...

Yep, they are truly the cream in my coffee!

Dear Valentine

To The One Who Still Makes My Heart Flutter...

It's hard to believe that in the blink of our eyes, eight years have come and gone since we first celebrated this day of love together :) Life has dramatically changed, several times over from that first year and yet, when I close my eyes I can go right back to that time in our history together.  Eight years ago, you made me dinner and we exchanged little gifts that were chosen with all the stress of "what do I get him/her that sends the perfect message??"  I'm pretty sure we each went home with a teddy bear, you a CD and me some flowers.  Good choices for that first year :) But if you remember you also gave me a gift that night that would forever change my life and yours.  You sat me down and opened your Bible.  I felt my heart begin to race and then melt all on that hot, Florida night. You said sweet things about the months we had spent together, deepening our friendship and getting to know each other.  You echoed every thought I had and you won me over with your tender words and the compliments that dripped off your tongue.  But because you had something greater in mind, you didn't fill me up with empty words, you went to the TRUE WORD and read me the picture of love from the One who created it in the first place. 

You told me about a love that is patient, that is kind, that does not envy or boast and isn't proud.  A love that does not dishonor others, is not self seeking, or easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs.  A love that does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.  A love that protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres.  A love that never fails...

With that picture of love in mind, you told me that second only to Jesus, I was the object of your affection.  Although I already knew you loved me with your actions, you gave me the gift of love with your words.  By the grace of God, I had waited for you to take the lead, for you to pursue me and for you to open that door.  "I love you" was freely exchanged that night and with three little words, you upped the ante and gave me the future that I longed for. A future with you. 

So here we are, 8 years later.  We've moved from Florida, to North Carolina, and landed in Minnesota.  You went from valet, to student, to Pastor and I went from employee, to nanny, to Mom.  We have two precious babies who know us as Mommy and Daddy and a marriage that is stronger today than it was last year.  I am so incredibly grateful for you.  God gave me a gift of pure grace when He led me to you! 

Sure there are days, when our life together isn't perfect :)

When we irritate each other or say a quick word that we later regret. 

But for every day that has been filled with heartache, you have given me ten times more that have been filled with JOY!  The fact of the matter is, I wouldn't trade my life with you for a life with anyone else.  You are the one I love to wake up with.  You are the one I love having babies with.  And you are the one who still stops my heart with a glance across the room.

In eight years of loving me, your love has been patient and kind.  Your love has not been envious or boastful or proud.  It hasn't been self-seeking, or easily angered and thankfully, it's kept no record of endless wrongs.  Your love has never delighted in evil, but has always rejoiced with the truth.  Your love protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres.  By the grace of God, your love hasn't failed. 

Has your love always been all of these things to me, all of the time?  No. It couldn't be and we both know, neither could mine.  But you have stayed true to your word and to THE WORD and have offered me the grace that has been given to us both through Jesus. 

And for that, I am extremely humbled and thankful. 

 

I have no idea what the future holds or how many days and years I get to love you in return.  But I do know that you are and always will be my favorite valentine. 

You have given me two of the most beautiful children and the privilege of staying home with them. 

I am indebted to you and to your hard work for that. 

I love you Travy. 

You are the object of my affection and the one I love, to love. 

Happy Valentine's Day...

Steph

Valentine's Fun!

I've been debating about whether to show you this because it might be telling. 

A little more telling than I'm willing to admit, but here goes. 

This is our "winter" tree :)

It's currently up in our living room and this is exactly what it looks like. 

Unfortunately, my little point and shoot camera does not do it ANY justice, it's much cuter in person.

But I feel like I need to explain...

When Christmas ended, and it was time to take down the tree, Travis and I were both dragging our feet.  We love Christmas and we love our tree.  We were ready to part with all the red decorations that invaded our living room, but something about taking down the soft glow of the tree, bummed us out.  So we stripped it of all its decorations and left it up anyway.  Because occasionally, we're rebellious like that :)

And then one day, I found this little sign that I bought last year, a glittery "Let It Snow" sign.  And it was snowing when I found it, so I thought, maybe I should put that on the tree?  But the tree was so barren and green and my little sign stuck out.  So then, I stumbled across these white cherry blossom branches, that I often use for my wedding business.  But on that day, I had an idea...What if I also put those on the tree?? 

I felt like I was drinking crazy kool-aid, but I did it anyway and as soon as I put them on the tree, I loved it!  And so did Trav.  The little blossoms look like snow and I love the twisty branches coming out of the tree. 

As I've stared at that tree for over a month now, I've been keeping a mental list of what I'll do differently next year.  I'm pretty sure that I'm going to do a winter tree again, (it's such a nice way to ease into the loooooong winter here!) but I'm going to look for more twigs, a little nest, some big, white pinecones...don't you think that will be so cute???  I don't always turn the lights on, it's just as pretty without them, but at night...a glowing tree is seriously so warming to us.  And Heaven knows we need anything that's "warming" to get us through the winter! 

Ok, I know at this point you are wondering, "why is this titled Valentine's Fun???"  I'm getting to that!  I just had to justify myself and my tree first :)

Imagine my delight, when I opened a Valentine's Day package this afternoon, that contained a little dose of sunshine...

Staring at me in that package, was the most darling little BIRDIE!! 

And hanging from that birdies' mouth, was a sweet little "C" 

With love for Carter, from his Nana and Papa :)

 And then there was a second little birdie...

With love for Ava, from her Nana and Papa.

Are those not the sweetest, handmade valentines you have EVER seen???  Oh my goodness.  I just love them!  And since my children are both napping, they haven't even seen them yet, but I know they'll love them too! 

So now I have two, spring-colored, love birds hanging from my tree!  Which got me thinking, maybe my "winter" tree should morph into a "spring" tree, just to help brighten our moods??  This is the month when winter gets hard.  And long.  So anything to distract us from that, is always welcome!  But, you have my word, that tree WILL come down!  I promise.  By mid-March, I think I'll be ready :) Don't you think a little color to go with my new birds would be fun??

So I do have more "traditional" valentines' decorations up :) Like these window clings!  I couldn't wait to have kids so I could buy these!  Ha Ha.  Ava loves them, but so do I.

And I found this fun heart garland recently...

...and some fun placemats...

...a finger-print covered picture frame...

...fun candles...

...and a picture of the cutest little valentines I know!

I'm plotting and planning about how we'll celebrate on Monday and you know everything in me wants to make some more cookies!!  But, I've burned Travis, my neighbors, and my Bible study group out with these cookies :) So, I'll be doing something else to express my love! 

I'm trying to embrace all of these holidays and fun days for our kids, but also because I love them too.  Travis and I are equally as sentimental, although don't tell him I said that :) We are going to be able to go out on a date and I'm very grateful that after 8 years, I love my true valentine more than ever. 

What do you like to do at your house??  Any fun traditions or memories you enjoy each year?

Growing Up in the Blink of an Eye

Maybe it's because I've had lots of time to look at my kiddos this week, or maybe it's because I poured through Ava's first year in pictures over the weekend, but seriously, my babies are so cute. 

 I know, I'm bragging...how obnoxious. 

But I can't help it. They are making my heart melt a lot these days :)

Ava is rapidly approaching her second birthday and I can't believe it.  How can she be 2 already???  Wasn't I just pregnant with her last month?????

No, I guess that was Carter I was pregnant with  :) But speaking of little Carty, isn't it crazy that tomorrow he will be 4 months old????  Good grief!  He looks like he's about 13 in this picture, right?? 

 At the rate that his hair is growing, he'll probably need to start shaving next month too.

It's freezing cold here, and I've kept the kids in all week. Carter and I both have colds and we are doing our best to rest our way through them. So, I've been playing a lot and enjoying the little things this week :)

 Like making Ava giggle...

And reading a thousand books :)

I've tickled tiny toes...

 ...and wiped lots of dirty faces :)

We've played with hair-do's and modeled lots of hairbows!

We've gotten lots of mileage out of familiar toys...

 And made enough noise to let the neighbors know we're around!

It's been a pretty ordinary, stay in your jammies and relax kind of week, which is just fine with me. 

My heart is heavy for little Kate McRae and her family this week.  I just can't think about them without tearing up and asking the Lord to give them the wisdom and peace they so desperately need.  It's been a long week inside with my kids, but thinking about Kate (and about her Mom and Dad) certainly helps give me some perspective. I put Ava and Carter to bed tonight, with extra hugs and kisses, knowing I can't control what lies ahead in each of their lives.  As much as I long to protect them and keep them from heartbreak, I can't. So I lay my head on my pillow tonight, grateful for these ordinary days and knowing that God has already numbered all of our days, no matter what I do or don't do.  He knows what's ahead and tonight, I'm really grateful I don't.  That's a burden we would never be able to carry.  

I sure do love these little monkeys.

And I'll take an ordinary, uneventful week anytime.

I can't believe how fast these days are flying off the calendar...

But I'm determined to enjoy all of them!

Which is pretty easy when you have these little faces to stare at :)